Julian Cameron and Drew Shepherd sparked LaGrange's men's basketball team to an 89-73 win over Berea in Mariotti Gym on Saturday. The Panthers, with their second straight win, improved to 3-2 overall and in USA South play. The Mountaineers slipped to 0-3 overall and in the conference. The two teams meet again Sunday in Mariotti Gym at 1 p.m.

Cameron poured in a game-high 28 points. He was 10-of-17 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. He was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line, had a game-high six assists, and did not commit a turnover. Shepherd had 18 points off the bench, coming within a point of tying his career high set last season against Berea. He was 6-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and a perfect 3-for-3 at the free throw line. Kyle Brown and Bershard Edwards each had 12 points.

Coach Kendal Wallace
"We came out sluggish today. We had the cool factor going today; you can't win like that. The game honors toughness, the game honors those guys who come in and do the same thing night in and night out. We sometimes get away from that.

"Shep (Shepherd) is a great player, you should see him in practice, he basically sometimes dominates practice. It was good to see him take his open shots and do the things he can be successful at. He came in here and did that and I'm very proud of him. He's one of our leaders on and off the court.

"It's been advantage so far this season for the first game loser in the second game. The other team is hungrier and they don't want to lose two times in a row. They'll make adjustments to what we do and believe me we will make some adjustments. We're going to continue what do; attack in transition and get down hill."

First Half
Berea hung with the Panthers for most of the first half. The lead changed hands seven times, the last when Terique Miller's trey put the Mountaineers up 26-25 with 4:26 left in the half. 

Cameron held to just three points, scored 12 of LC's final 19 points in the half. He started with a jumper to regain the lead for the Panthers, 27-26. LC would not trail again in the game. Cameron and Shepherd ended the half with back-to-back treys for a 44-35 lead. The Panthers had 11 assists on 19 first half buckets.

Second Half
Cameron opened the half making two free throws for an 11-point lead after Berea's M.J. Embree received a technical at the end of the first half. Shepherd completed a three-point play with 12:18 left to give LC its biggest lead, 66-45. Berea never got closer than 14 the rest of the way. The Panthers led by as much as 20 on three occasions, the last on Brown's layup to make it 81-61 with five minutes left. 

By the numbers
LC had its second best shooting game of the season. The Panthers finished the game shooting 53.8%, including 41.7% from 3-point range. The Panthers finished with a season-high 21 assists.  The Panthers were 9-of-11 at the free throw line and have made 25 of their last 29 free throws.

The Series
The Panthers improved to 6-2 against the Mountaineers with their second straight win in the series.